This project was transferred from the Section on Physical Biology, Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology, NIDDK, on March 15, 1987. Target analysis of radiation inactivation had three aspects: 1. Theoretical studies developed a target analysis for complex systems which show a radiation-induced change in intrinsic activity (Km for enzymes, KD for receptors). 2. Fundamental studies of radiation action which showed the same temperature effect previously found for enzymes also holds for synthetic polymers, and found that the phenomenon is due to the temperature-dependence of free radical generation. Other fundamental studies proved that radiation action on the oligosaccharide portion of glycoproteins did not contribute to the target size, and this was due to the absorption of the radiation energy near the primary ionization. 3. The method was applied to several new biochemical systems, and most notably to a complex physiological system, muscle contraction.